Railroad journal box seal



June 24, 1969 F. w. HOLSTElN' 3,451,684

RAILROAD JOURNAL BOX SEAL Filed 0dr. 4, 1967 Sheet ,8 of s ATTORMQG.

June 24, 1969 F. w. HOLSTEIN I 3,451,684

' RAILROAD JOURNAL BOX SEAL Filed Oct. 4, 1967 INV'ENTOR. FEEDER/Ck Ml 1 /0457 E/N' Y A 7TORA/EVS.

United States Patent 3,451,684 RAILROAD JOURNAL BOX SEAL Frederick W. Holstein, Verona, Pa., assignor to Woodings-Verona Tool Works, Verona, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Oct. 4, 1967, Ser. No. 672,897 Int. Cl. F16j 15/00, 9/06; F02f /00 US. Cl. 277-154 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention Dust guard seals are used at the inner ends of railroad car journal boxes to prevent dust and other foreign matter from entering the boxes around the axles. Such a seal engages both the box and the axle. Heretofore, practically all seals have had to be inserted in the journal boxes before the axles are inserted. Consequently, to replace a seal the car truck had to be disassembled before the seal could be removed and a new one inserted.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a dust seal for journal boxes, which is in one piece, which is reinforced, which can be inserted and removed while the car axle is in the box, which forms a good seal, and which is simple and inexpensive in construction.

The preferred embodiment is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which FIG. 1 is a side view of my seal;

FIG. 2 is an edge view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of my seal, partly in section, in place in a journal box;

FIG. 4 is a transverse vertical section through the box taken on the line IVIV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary vertical section through the box and seal;

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross section through a journal box, showing the seal being inserted in the dust guard well; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side view of a modification.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the seal has a sheet-like body 1 formed of flexible material, such as rubber, felt or a synthetic plastic. An especially good material to use is foamed polyurethane. The seal lies in a vertical plane in use and will be described in that position. The top of the seal is straight and preferably flat and may flare upwardly slightly as shown in FIG. 2. The seal body is provided with a central opening 2 for a railroad car axle. This opening is surrounded at one side of the body by an integral rib 3. The upper part of the seal body may be provided with sealing ribs 4 extending across its opposite sides. The lower portion of the seal has a convex lower edge, the ends of which preferably are a short distance below the level of the center of the opening. Beneath the opening, the seal body is split radially to form two arcuate arms '5 that normally are disposed end to end at 6. Due to the flexibility of the seal body, these arms can be spread apart at their lower ends and partially straightened to permit the ends to be pushed down around the opposite sides of a car axle, after which the ends of the arms will meet below the axle.

This application of the seal to an axle is done while a car truck is assembled with its axles in the journal boxes of the side frames. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, an end of an axle 8 extends through an opening 9 in the inner end of a journal box 10, the thick inner end wall of which is provided with a narrow recess 11 extending downwardly and around the opening to form the usual dust guard well. This well receives and houses the seal. To insert the seal, its upper corner portions above arms 5 are folded across each other in the manner shown in FIG. 6, which has the effect of spreading the lower ends of the arms apart. These arms are then inserted in the opposite ends of the dust well and then pushed downwardly beside the axle. As they slide down around the axle they are compressed radially and the upper portion of the seal folds so that it, too, can enter the well. Rib 3 and the adjoining portion of the seal will compress enough in thickness to enter the well. Sealing ribs 4 are compressed against the adjoining sides of the well to improve the sealing effect in that area.

If opening 2 for the axle is circular originally, it is likely that when the wall of the opening is pressed against the axle due to radial compression of the seal arms in the well, some areas of wall may separate from the axle. To avoid this, as shown in FIG. 1, the opening is made somewhat oval, with its vertical diameter substantially the same as the diameter of the axle but with its horizontal diameter slightly greater. Also, although the top of the seal is about as long as the well, the seal flares out below it slightly. In other words, the seal is tapered upwardly from the ends of its convex lower edge, so that the width of the seal at the level of the central portion of opening 2 is greater than the witdh of the well in which the seal is to be housed. As a result, when the seal is inserted in the well, the vertical walls of the well engaged by the edges of the seal compress the seal laterally and force the side portions of opening 2 inwardly against the axle without disturbing the engagement of the rest of the wall of the opening with the axle. Consequently, the seal engages the axle, snugly all the way around it as shown in FIG. 4.

Another feature of this invention is that at least one spring strip is embedded in each of the curved arms 5 of the seal body and conforms to the curvature thereof. These strips reinforce the arms and thereby aid in inserting them in the well and holding them against the axle. To provide stiffness for the arms as they are pushed down beside the axle, it is desirable to have two spring strips 13 and 14 in each arm. These strips extend upwardly to the top of the seal body and preferably are joined together by welding near the top. Outer strips 14 are spaced a uniform distance from the adjacent edges: of the seal body, and inner strips 13 likewise are spaced uniformly from opening 2 except near the top of the opening where these strips flare out to join the outer strips. One of the strips in each side of the seal may project above it and be bent laterally to form a tongue 15 that will extend out across the adjoining end of the well when the seal is in place. The ends of the tongues can be bent down as shown in FIG. 4 to help stabilize the seal in the well. The lower ends of the spring strips preferably are bent toward each other in order to provide the strips with blunt ends. These strips not only reinforce and stiffen the arms of the seal, but they also help to distribute the pressure of the seal against the axle uniformly around it and prevent creeping of the seal body around the rotating axle.

With the seal disclosed herein, only one piece has to be handled in inserting it in a dust guard well or removing it therefrom. The seal has good seal engagement with the walls of the well.all around the axle, which the seal also snugly engages. The most important advantage, however, is that the seal can be applied to or removed from an axle while the axle is extending through the dust guard well. This eliminates the time and expense required to disassemble the car truck before a seal can be replaced.

In the modification shown in FIG. 7, which can be used when one is not concerned with removing the sea] from the well, the lower ends of each pair of spring strips 17 and 18 project slightly from the end of an arcuate arm 19 of the flexible seal and are pressed into the end of the adjoining arm. The projecting strips from the two arms overlap and are bent into the shape of hooks 20 and 21 that hook together when the ends of the arms come together beneath an axle 22. In other words, the strips are self-locking and form a further means for preventing the seal arms from separating after installation in a journal box 23.

I claim:

1. A one-piece seal for the dust guard well of a railroad journal box, comprising a vertical sheet-like body of flexible material adapted to fit in said well and provided with a central opening for a car axle, the lower portion of said body normally having a convex lower edge and being split radially of said opening to form two arcuate arms disposed end to end, said arms being capable of being separated and partially straightened temporarily to permit their ends to slide down around the opposite sides of an axle when the seal is inserted in a dust guard well.

2. A one-piece seal according to claim 1, including a normally curved reinforcing spring strip embedded in each of said arms and conforming to the curvature thereof.

3. A one-piece seal according to claim 2, in which said spring strips extend upwardly to the top of said body.

4. A one-piece seal according to claim 3, in which the spring strips extend above the top of said body and are adapted to be bent laterally outward across the tops of the adjoining walls of a well.

5. A one-piece seal according to claim 2, in which there are a pair of radially spaced spring strips in each of said arms, and the strips extend upwardly above the level of said opening with the upper portions of each pair of strips joined together.

6. A one-piece seal according to claim 5, in which said joined portions of the spring strips extend up to the top of said body.

7. A one-piece seal according to claim 5, in which the lower ends of each pair of strips are bent toward each other.

8. A one-piece seal according to claim 1, in which said opening is slightly wider than it is high, and said body tapers upwardly from said convex lower edge, said taper being such that lateral compression of the body to eliminate the taper will make said opening substantially circular.

9. A one-piece seal according to claim 1, in which said opening is slightly wider than it is high, and said body tapers upwardly from said convex lower edge, said taper being such that lateral compression of the body to eliminate the taper will make said opening substantially circular, said seal including a pair of radially spaced spring strips embedded in each of said arms and normally conforming to the curvature thereof, the strips extending upwardly to the top of said body with the upper portions of each pair of strips joined together.

10. A one-piece seal according to claim 1, including a spring strip embedded in each of said arms and conforming to the curvature thereof, the lower ends of said strips being hook shape for engagement with each other at said ends of the arcuate arms to hook the strips together.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,532,449 12/1950 Hennessy 277 3,061,316 10/1962 Carlson 277130 X 3,074,730 1/1963 Cappiello 27713O LOUIS K. RIMRODT, Primary Examiner.

U.S. Cl. X.R. 

